Health Professionals’ Evaluation of mHealth Solutions to Increase Up-take of Rapid-screening for HIV and Hepatitis in Migrant Populations in France: a Qualitative Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Migrants underutilize screening opportunities for HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C despite elevated risk factors for contracting these infections. Language barriers are an often given as reasons for limiting access to services. Translation and communication apps increase communication and overall patient-satisfaction in the patient-provider relationship. In the development and adoption of new technology, expectations play an important role. OBJECTIVE To explore the expectations of healthcare professionals (HPs), at the French Office of Immigration and Integration (OFII), for a new communication tool that could improve migrant’ screening utilization. METHODS In this qualitative study, a purposive (diverse) sampling method was used to recruit doctors and nurses who conduct rapid screening tests with migrants in four centers in France. Semi-structured interviews explored HP’s experience with migrants at the OFII. Opinions on the rapid testing of migrants, the use of telephone interpreters, the concept of health literacy, and the creation of a new tool to promote rapid screening in the MLPF population were explored. RESULTS Twenty interviews were conducted with eleven doctors and nine nurses with a median age of 58 years (25-67 years). Participants favored the integration of an innovative communication tool in the context of rapid screening of migrants. However, there were concerns the implementation of the tool, the value of the tool when migrants had a pre-existing reluctance to screening, and the need for wider practice improvements. Expectations were for a tool that would present information but also support a positive attitude towards screening. HPs also expressed the wish that the technology could help with the collection of health data. CONCLUSIONS This research provides a better understand of potential formats, characteristics, functions, content, and use of an innovative, digital method to communicate with MLPF. We found support from HPs for a digital tool. The findings contribute to the conceptual development of an electronic application and its implementation within the ApiDé study, which aims to validate a digital application to address language barriers to increase utilisation of screening among MLPF in France.